After 69 years of keeping its private financial affairs private, IKEA published earnings data for the first time this month. With EU $25.2 billion in sales and EU $3.6 billion in profit in FY 2011, it's surprising that the company hasn't been more bragadocious in the past. That's so unlike a major retailer.

The big change in financial transparency might be the result of the big leadership changes that are in the future of IKEA. One year from now when CEO Mikael Ohlsson resigns, Peter Agnefjäll will take his place. By the time that switchover occurs, IKEA plans to be opening between 20 and 25 new international locations each year, which is about three times as many international store locations as IKEA opened in 2011. The three sons of founder Ingvar Kamprad reportedly will also be taking more active leadership roles, although it's not yet clear what those roles will be.

Like any retail chain abroad, IKEA has challenges doing business in an environment that is foreign in more ways that one. Just this week, IKEA decided to pull a photo off its Russian website because of possible negative political repercussions. The photo, part of a customer photo competition run by IKEA in Russia, featured four people wearing brightly colored ski masks made popular by a punk rock band named Pussy Riot.

It's not that punk rock is controversial, it's that the Pussy Riot band members were recently jailed for "hooliganism" after daring to sing a song that was unsupportive of Russian president Vladamir Putin. Unlike U.S. retail chains that openly express their political affiliations, IKEA chose to remain neutral and avoid potential backlash by removing the photo from the contest. When in Russia, do censoring like the Russians do!

No doubt when the 2012 World Retail Congress was doing its judging, it was not just the amount of global expansion that IKEA was doing that impressed them, but also the way IKEA was doing that expanding. In its U.S. foreign market, IKEA fired up...

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By Redemptor Benedict
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What does it mean to be a leader? Is it the title….President, Chairman, General etc? To me,
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when it comes to leading. True leadership cannot be awarded, appointed or assigned.
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high positions—for example, Martin Luther King, Jr. It comes only from influence and it has to
be earned. Being a leader in a mass of people is more than just having the name “captain”.
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your neighbourhood, or in your society, all without having a title. It’s not the position that
makes the leader; it’s the leader that makes the position. However, it is also true that people
who are awarded, appointed or assigned leadership positions, have a key role to play in
society, and if true leadership is not within them, then at least some effort is needed to build
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Although differences do exist, the roles can definitely overlap. The best case scenario is for an individual to have the best characteristics of both. All nurses are leaders and managers at some level. We all strive for a balance between doing the right thing and doing things right. The rapid and dramatic changes in health care make these skills more important than ever.
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1 understand what is meant by ‘leadership’ and ‘governance’
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3. Analysis ways in which IKEA has managed to minimize threats to its business?
IKEA has used various strategies to minimize threats. These go under there different categories. Social trends market forces and economi factors.
Social trends:IKEA is building online hepl to guide customers to a more sustainable life. Here it can focus on home improvement in the slowing housing market. It supports customers with tips and ideas on its website to reduce their impact on the environment . This will also save them money. Staff are trained on sustainability , both on what IKEA is doing and how they can take responsibility to became sustainable for themselves.
Market forces: IKEA is large enough to enjoy economies of scale. This lower average costs in the long run throught, for example, botter use of techology or employing specialized managers. Economies of scale also give a business a competitive edge if cost savings are them passed on to customers in the form of lower prices. This puts up hight barriers to entry for smaller compamies entering the market.
Economic factors: IKEA's low prices create appeal amongst its customers in tought financial times. It is vital to keep prices as low as possible when the refail sector is depressed. IKEA's princing strategy targets corasumers with limited financial resources...